Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales.

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (based on "Star Trek" created by), Leonard Nimoy (story)

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	McCoy
James Doohan	...	Scotty
George Takei	...	Sulu
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Jane Wyatt	...	Amanda
Catherine Hicks	...	Gillian
Mark Lenard	...	Sarek
Robin Curtis	...	Lt. Saavik
Robert Ellenstein	...	Federation Council President
John Schuck	...	Klingon Ambassador
Brock Peters	...	Admiral Cartwright
Michael Snyder	...	Starfleet Communications Officer

Storyline

The most acclaimed Star Trek adventure of all time with an important message. It is the 23rd century, and a mysterious alien probe is threatening Earth by evaporating the oceans and destroying the atmosphere. In their frantic attempt to save mankind, Admiral Kirk and his crew must time travel back to 1986 San Francisco where they find a world of punk, pizza and exact-change buses that are as alien to them as anything they have ever encountered in the far-off reaches of the galaxy. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy return as Kirk and Spock, along with the entire Star Trek crew.

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Plot Keywords:

probe | whale | alien probe | humpback whale | time travel | 

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Taglines:

They travelled back where 23rd century man had never gone before. To a mad, crazy, outrageous time. 1986.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Startrek.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English Finnish

Release Date:

26 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star Trek IV: The Adventure Continues

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,881,888, 30 November 1986

Gross USA:

$109,713,132

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$133,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to George Takei, when McCoy, Scotty and Sulu are standing in front of the building with Yellow Pages advertisement, a door opens and an Asian woman appears. The scene in the movie ends at this point but originally this woman was to begin shouting for a young boy named Hikaru, who would run into Sulu. Sulu would realize that this boy was his great-great-(etc.) grandfather. The young boy hired for this scene began to cry on the set before the shot and they were unable to get him to do the scene. With no one to replace him, the scene was never shot.

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Goofs

When the cloaked ship lands on the grass, a trash can is crushed. As the earth (grass) moves down under the pressure of the heavy ship, the grass blades remain pointing up.

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Quotes

Spock: Admiral, if we were to assume these whales were ours to do with as we pleased, we would be as guilty as those who caused their extinction.

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Crazy Credits

The ending credits play on top of photos and clips from the film.

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Alternate Versions

The German theatrical version contains a short summary of the two previous movies, instead of the challenger-dedication. Later video versions had both the summary and the dedication.

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Connections

Featured in Nostalgia Critic: The Other Animated Titanic Movie (2011)

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Soundtracks

Ballad Of The Whale
(uncredited)
Performed by Yellowjackets

User Reviews

Anti-Trek Film

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is my favorite Trek movie but one that I say is off-limits when my friends and I discuss which Trek is the best. Quite simply, this movie is not really a Star Trek movie; Star Trek II and III are far better examples of the genre. Of course, that is what makes Star Trek IV such a fantastic movie; it's crazy and hilarious. This movie is also probably the best one for a family to see other than Insurrection, which is a weaker film anyway. The movie does have more profanity than usual, but it is dealt in such a comedic fashion that it is excusable (the whole colorful metaphors thing always makes me laugh). This is a movie that you could put a very mixed crowd in front of and enjoy; you don't have to love Star Trek to love this movie. This movie is also great because the acting has improved immeasurably since the hammy days of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek - The Motion Picture but everyone has not gone decidedly gray yet. This movie might be looked upon best as a spoof of the genre, but it is not Spaceballs. What this is is a wonderful movie with some great comedy but still some great science fiction ideas (particularly the probe, which is one of the more chilling things I have ever seen in a movie). This was the first Star Trek movie I saw as a child, and it was only until years later that I watched the others. If you have children and want them to introduce them to Star Trek, this is the perfect way. It was for me.

3.5/4 stars